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This isn't *new* news, but I don't see a thread about it here yet, so here goes.

The D-35 (yes, I'm gassing for one!) turned 50 this year; you probably know the story: back in '65 they started running out of Brazilian Rosewood boards big enough to build dreadnaughts that didn't have run out / imperfections in the panels, so someone came up with the idea of a 3-piece back.

They also decided to tweak the tone, so they also used the 1/4" wide braces from smaller guitars, which opened up the top some.

Anyway, all standard D-35's built this year (2015) get a special internal sticker on the back, and they are building 100 Limited Edition Brazilian 50th Anniversary units (only the middle piece on the back and head plate are Brazilian; the sides and other back panels are Madagascar Rosewood). These LE units are priced accordingly, $6,999 list price...out of reach for mere mortals like me.

But I'm prepping to order a standard model by the end of June; my local dealer (where I buy LOTS of gear) will sell it to me for 15% below MAP, which is around $2599... so for around $2,200 + 7% tax.

Anyone else bought (or buying) a D-35 this year? Any other D-35 owners, please chime in (including those with a Johnny Cash Signature Model, which is a D-35 under all that black paint).

I vividly remember being a sophomore in college when the D-35 came out. I dropped into the Denver Folklore Center to check them out.

They were absolutely beautiful and I fell in love with the look of the 3 piece back. However…

All three they had sounded like they were stuffed full of socks. Incredibly disappointing to me but it wasn't of much concern since I was a poor college student and couldn't dream of buying such an expensive instrument. To this day, I still greatly prefer the sound of East Indian Rosewood over Brazilian (like those D-35's were) or any other wood.

A couple days after that trip to the Folklore Center, I ran into a fellow student who had just bought a new D-12-35. That instrument sounded incredible and I knew one day I had to own one. In the early 80's I acquired a beautiful '69 D-12-35 and enjoyed it for many years.

Yep, special order for a lefty, but it's no upcharge from Martin. According to Tim at Dietze (talked to him about this yesterday), he checked and they said it would take about 4 months to build me a lefty.

Dietze has always given me great prices well below MAP (since they know the guitar isn't going to hang on the wall), and their customer service is excellent.

Okay, so I sold a couple guitars today (to the same guy - and he previously bought another guitar from me!), so I can now order a D-35 Standard...

...only it will be *slightly* Custom (and will be built in the Martin Custom Shop because of the add on options).

I'm getting it with the 1 3/4" nut, and also with "butterbean" open back Grover tuners (which come standard on the Seth Avett model). Even with these options, I'm still getting it slightly below MAP for a floor model...so I'm happy.

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